[genclaymore]

There's no headphone amp's with optical  in, Only RCA. You would need to get a external dac amp if you want optical inputs, to plug your sound card into.

 

[GoldenboyJay]

Thanks. I see. I thinks it's better of buying a sound card with headphone amp. 

 

[genclaymore]

If you already have a sound card, you can spend $100 and under for a External headphone amp and use the analog output of your existing sound card to  the headphone amp RCA input using a 3.5 to RCA cable. Like a Schiit Magi, Fiio E9,  Vali if you add 19 more dollars  to your budget not counting shippingand there more options for a external headphone amp.
 
If you just wanna keep it simple then you can find a cheap SBZ Oem for under 100,or a used STX for around $139 used if you lucky.

 

[GoldenboyJay]

Hmm.. I'll try that route with Magi or E9. Thanks.

 

[MrEleventy]

So I'm itching to try out CMSS-3D Headphone and am trying to find a used X-Fi Titanium PCIe (70SB088000004) in/to Canada for less than $100 which is turning out much harder than I thought.  Are there any other PCIe bus Creative cards that do the same CMSS-3D Headphone downmix to stereo and digital passthrough to SPDIF?  In particular, do the X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty PCIe cards (70SB088600007 and 70SB088600002) do the same thing?  I'm currently running Dolby Headphone via onboard SPDIF > Audioengine D1 > Schiit Asgard 2 > K702.65, so all I want is the soundcard for the CMSS-3D HP processing.

Did Creative ever make what is essentially a USB version of the X-Fi Titanium with the down-mixing and passthrough via SPDIF?  I think I read an earlier post from NamelessPFG that stated that the X-Fi Go! USB (SB1100) did NOT downmix and passthrough CMSS-3D HP via SPDIF.   

Correct.

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 SB1090 (non-pro) SPDIF out: TOSLINK

I'm not sure if this is still available online and this is a good option as well.

There is a post before about this and can't find it. 

Link

@Avro : I still have a spare SB1090 that I won from eBay. PM me if you're interested.

It's what I'm currently running, SB1090 -> NFB12 via optical -> DT880s. Works really well. It's like wallhacking.

 

[kidboy17]

Driver question for Titanium HD owners. Is the new drivers (released Feb 10, 2014) worth updating to or not?

 

[motorwayne]

  Driver question for Titanium HD owners. Is the new drivers (released Feb 10, 2014) worth updating to or not?

Seems stable.

 

[roguegeek]

  Driver question for Titanium HD owners. Is the new drivers (released Feb 10, 2014) worth updating to or not?

There's nothing wrong with it. I don't see a reason to not update it.

 

[kidboy17]

OK thanks guys. I heard people with windows 8.1 were having problems and I wasn't sure if Windows 7 was having some issues or not.

 

[soneca]

Hey guys,

Apologise if this had been already addressed. But there are just too many post to read through everything.

I'm wondering about how external amps/DACs would compare to these soundcards.
I understand that external amps/DAC generally has better sound fidelity than internal sound cards, mostly because of electronic noise isolation, less space constrains for better layout and in general external "audiophile" amps/DACs would have better components due to its target audience.

However, I'm a gamer as well and would like to experience both high fidelity and surround reproduction from my games.
Based on Nameless's guide, it's based mainly on gaming soundcards.
I've read and watched videos of "experts" saying that soundcards are gimmick and that external amps/DACs are far more superior. They also stated that they get the same level of surround sound.
For the headphone portion, I think it's easier to understand since most people have the same advice.
For headphones with bigger soundstage and opened would have better surround. That sounds like it makes sense.

But there's a very grey area to soundcard vs external amp/DACs. Is soundcard surround sound feature really a marketing stunt or is it necessary?

Thanks and sorry in advance, if someone had already addressed this. Been having trouble finding someone with both expertise to give precise advise.

 

[Murder Mike]

But there's a very grey area to soundcard vs external amp/DACs. Is soundcard surround sound feature really a marketing stunt or is it necessary?

Thanks and sorry in advance, if someone had already addressed this. Been having trouble finding someone with both expertise to give precise advise.

You can use a sound card with and audiophile grade DAC and amp. I posted this a few pages back. It lists the various combinations. Depending on how picky you are (and your budget), you can easily go any of those routes. 
 
I will say some people don't like virtual surround processing and they're certainly entitled to their opinion. To my knowledge, those people are a very small minority.  

 

[GoldenboyJay]

Hey Murder Mike, thanks for the link. It helps me understand more what i need for my setup. I'm still deciding what to purchase based on price and sound quality.
 
Here is my plan setup:
 
1. Buy a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD soundcard for around $150 http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Titanium-Internal-SB1270/dp/B0041OUA38/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394131240&sr=8-1&keywords=x-fi+titanium+hd
 
or
 
2. Fiio E17 for around $124 http://www.amazon.com/FIIO-E17-Alpen-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B0070UFMOW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394142979&sr=8-1&keywords=fiio+e17
 
 
I'm currently using an onboard sound and Razer Surround and this serves me well in PC Gaming and i think this upgrade path is right for me because i  needed more volume and quality. I'm on a budget for upgrade.
 
I've read that the SMSL SD 793II also has a decent DAC
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMSL-SD-793II-DAC-DIR9001-PCM1793-OPA2134-Coax-Optical-Input-Headphone-Amp-B-/290786571436#shpCntId but not sure if this OK for an alternative upgrade DAC? Thanks.

 

[genclaymore]

You can get a Asus Xonar STX used for $139 off amazon which would be another good choice if it's still there.

 

[GoldenboyJay]

  You can get a Asus Xonar STX used for $139 off amazon which would be another good choice if it's still there.

Thanks for the suggestion. I forgot to include on my post that i'm currently liking the CMSS-3D and Razer surround for PC Games. Asus Xonar is no doubt a very good alternative though.

 

[SaLX]

This is completely new to me .. never heard of it.. but the guys on Twitch / DayZ say it's superb: ie it's a viable alternative to TS. Anybody got any opinions?
 
https://axon.dolby.com/